Merit should be assessed more broadly: Alternative scales of merit, that use emotional and entrepreneurial indices, for example, are being increasingly used by recruitment departments. This has allowed for better scrutiny and a more level playing field for all. The UK's use of positive action is moving in this direction and could do with a little more momentum.

The development sector should lead by example: Institutional inequality may not be as apparent within international development than other sectors, however, much more is expected of the sector in leading on equality across people of world identities. I would suggest that we have not fulfilled this responsibility well enough. The business sector, for its own purposes, sees the value of a 'business case for diversity', but it is rare to find such a focus in the development sector.

Make tracking employee ethnicity a priority: Departments often don't take employee data seriously enough. In its last staff report, the Department for International Development states that the ethnicity is unknown for all 338 starters in the year 2011. It also records that the relevant race targets that had been set were unmet.

Power is more important than headcount: Assumptions about equality within organisations should not be based on numbers alone. Total headcount in an organisation may be much more colourful because of local staff in developing countries, but most of the power lies with staff in headquarters.

Resource:

There can be huge pay discrepancy between local and expat employees of international organisations. Here is a Unicef case in point where pay got in the way of outcomes in Uganda.

Employees of international organisations lack legal protection: In international organisations, where much of the best funded development work occurs, legal prohibition of discrimination does not exist in practice. An aggrieved employee cannot demand information about their institution's race profiles, as they could if they worked for national organisations in America, for example, where they are subject to domestic legal systems.

A quota obsession could inhibit progress: Many people think international organisations are ineffective in administering development aid. Those criticisms may or may not be valid; it varies on a case by case basis. But where they are, the reasons why they are ineffective may be obscured by perennial debates about quotas and representation.

'Slum tourism' is problematic: There is a strong suggestion in the global academic community that tourism to impoverished areas, often linked to development organisations and charity tours, is problematic. It is not easy to assess where profits go, who capitalises on public exposure and why, or who has a say in the enterprises that affect local communities.